Currently in Earphones: "Way Down in the Hole" by Tom Waits
So, between making some shelves (from scratch!) for my ever increasing book collection, playing an interesting game of Lexicon, getting addicted to The Wire, Alison visiting in a few days, Dickens Fair, running hither and thither with the parents, and the general hyper attitude of the holidays, I'm not going to have much time to post. See you all in the new year and the new quarter, most likely.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
You know what's awesome?...
Currently in Earphones: "Ultraman: Towards the Future Opening Theme" by Shinsuke Kazato
...when you revisit something neat from you're childhood and find that it's still just as kick-ass now as it was then, even if you can see its flaws.
Case in point: back when I was a young thing in the early nineties, a show called Ultraman: Towards the Future came out, and after a few episodes, I thought it was the bees knees. Giant Monsters, a hero who shot laser beams out of his hands, futuristic weaponry and vehicles, and a sweet soundtrack. It had it all, and I watched the 3 or so episodes I had the forethought to catch on tape over and over again.
I had an inkling that it originally was Nipponese in origin, but the fact that it was in English made it seem like the rest of the sci-fi shows at the time. The difference being that my 6-7 year old mind thought it was the most AWESOMEIST THING EVAR.
Spring forward to today, when for some reason the show popped into my head again. In my "Should be studying for finals, thus goofing off," mode of thinking, I log on to YouTube and find a plethora of clips from the TV show. Despite the special effects looking rather dated and the Kaiju nature of the show looking silly in places (which is kinda the point), I still loved every second that I found. Here is my reasoning.
1. The Kick-Ass Orchestral Score: I don't know how many hours I wasted looking for the soundtrack to Ultraman at my local record stores, but it was a lot. The main theme may borrow a bit from Williams and his contemporaries, but it's still a magnificent song in it's own right.
2. They shot the monster slug-fests with juuuuust the right amount of slow-mo: Though I know that the appeal of most Kaiju is the camp factor, the camera-work for U:TTF gave the men in the suits enough weight to lend more credence to the idea that they're 10 stories tall. But then again, how much realism can you really have in such a show?
3. The rest of the generally high (at the time) production values: Really, those are some nice looking 'splosions. And the dialogue may be hammy at times, but the actors look like they're having fun, which makes up for it.
Anywho, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I still enjoyed U:TTF, even after the space of 15 years.
Enough, More Later.
- James
...when you revisit something neat from you're childhood and find that it's still just as kick-ass now as it was then, even if you can see its flaws.
Case in point: back when I was a young thing in the early nineties, a show called Ultraman: Towards the Future came out, and after a few episodes, I thought it was the bees knees. Giant Monsters, a hero who shot laser beams out of his hands, futuristic weaponry and vehicles, and a sweet soundtrack. It had it all, and I watched the 3 or so episodes I had the forethought to catch on tape over and over again.
I had an inkling that it originally was Nipponese in origin, but the fact that it was in English made it seem like the rest of the sci-fi shows at the time. The difference being that my 6-7 year old mind thought it was the most AWESOMEIST THING EVAR.
Spring forward to today, when for some reason the show popped into my head again. In my "Should be studying for finals, thus goofing off," mode of thinking, I log on to YouTube and find a plethora of clips from the TV show. Despite the special effects looking rather dated and the Kaiju nature of the show looking silly in places (which is kinda the point), I still loved every second that I found. Here is my reasoning.
1. The Kick-Ass Orchestral Score: I don't know how many hours I wasted looking for the soundtrack to Ultraman at my local record stores, but it was a lot. The main theme may borrow a bit from Williams and his contemporaries, but it's still a magnificent song in it's own right.
2. They shot the monster slug-fests with juuuuust the right amount of slow-mo: Though I know that the appeal of most Kaiju is the camp factor, the camera-work for U:TTF gave the men in the suits enough weight to lend more credence to the idea that they're 10 stories tall. But then again, how much realism can you really have in such a show?
3. The rest of the generally high (at the time) production values: Really, those are some nice looking 'splosions. And the dialogue may be hammy at times, but the actors look like they're having fun, which makes up for it.
Anywho, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I still enjoyed U:TTF, even after the space of 15 years.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Thoughts on The Golden Compass
Currently in Earphones: Bioshock Score by Garry Schyman
Edit: Thanks for the notes friends, but I *did* see the trailer. Yes, I know they shot the original ending of the book and have decided to put it at the beginning of Subtle Knife. I thought that by mentioning how the general public was placated by end of the movie demonstrated my knowledge of the fact that they cut it for that purpose. I don't live under a rock! I have internet! Plus, if you're a hardcore fan (to whom this would matter), I don't need to mention something ya'll already know on my blog. Sorry if the above sounds snarky, for the couple of good friends who made the point, but I was getting a little tired of having my fanboy knowledge second guessed.
- A Full Theater = Awesome.
- Over half the audience having read the book = Super Awesome.
- The fact that those who read the book also didn't know about the major change to the ending = not so awesome.
So, all in all, I applaud Chris Weitz' work on adapting Pullman's novel to the big screen. It hit all the right notes for me and I was happy with all the trimming that had to be done for the sake of pacing. Of course, I'd have wanted more of the parts of the book that I enjoyed, i.e. more Iorek andRagnar Iofur Ragnar, more Lee Scoresby (and a sadly neglected Hester!), and more Asriel.
The upshot of having so many fans of the book at the theater was the enthusiasm. I love it when people get so into a movie that they cheer or vocalize. I may have been spoiled by watching the particularly gory Planet Terror right before, but I actually found the shocking end to the polar bear duel almost clinical. I was happy that the majority of the audience gave a collective "PHWOAH! Did I just SEE that?" whenIofur's Ragnar's jaw went flying past the camera, and I still think that Ian McShane's culminating "IS THAT....ALL?!?!" speech was the shit (matched only by Iorek's response).
Speaking of the panserbjørne, I love me my Ian McKellen. But I always felt that Iorek would have been more middle aged, and as full of gravitas as McKellen's voice is, it just sounded too old to me. I really would have liked to hear Nonso Anozie's work (and he was slated for a while, you can hear him for about two seconds on the "contract with a child" line in one of the teaser trailers).
Also, Derek Jacobi is awesome, even as a bad guy. And did Christopher Lee know he was only getting one line? Or have I become so used to him being a major player in any film I see that I find it hard to believe when he gets a cameo?
Bravo for the most part, Mr. Weitz. But boo on you for making all the wrong people (fans of the book) mock, deride, and outright laugh at the criminally hacked ending. Yes, the general public went out going "Well that was new and interesting;" I guess it was simply the luck of getting a large amount of people familiar with the book in the same screening as I.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Edit: Thanks for the notes friends, but I *did* see the trailer. Yes, I know they shot the original ending of the book and have decided to put it at the beginning of Subtle Knife. I thought that by mentioning how the general public was placated by end of the movie demonstrated my knowledge of the fact that they cut it for that purpose. I don't live under a rock! I have internet! Plus, if you're a hardcore fan (to whom this would matter), I don't need to mention something ya'll already know on my blog. Sorry if the above sounds snarky, for the couple of good friends who made the point, but I was getting a little tired of having my fanboy knowledge second guessed.
- A Full Theater = Awesome.
- Over half the audience having read the book = Super Awesome.
- The fact that those who read the book also didn't know about the major change to the ending = not so awesome.
So, all in all, I applaud Chris Weitz' work on adapting Pullman's novel to the big screen. It hit all the right notes for me and I was happy with all the trimming that had to be done for the sake of pacing. Of course, I'd have wanted more of the parts of the book that I enjoyed, i.e. more Iorek and
The upshot of having so many fans of the book at the theater was the enthusiasm. I love it when people get so into a movie that they cheer or vocalize. I may have been spoiled by watching the particularly gory Planet Terror right before, but I actually found the shocking end to the polar bear duel almost clinical. I was happy that the majority of the audience gave a collective "PHWOAH! Did I just SEE that?" when
Speaking of the panserbjørne, I love me my Ian McKellen. But I always felt that Iorek would have been more middle aged, and as full of gravitas as McKellen's voice is, it just sounded too old to me. I really would have liked to hear Nonso Anozie's work (and he was slated for a while, you can hear him for about two seconds on the "contract with a child" line in one of the teaser trailers).
Also, Derek Jacobi is awesome, even as a bad guy. And did Christopher Lee know he was only getting one line? Or have I become so used to him being a major player in any film I see that I find it hard to believe when he gets a cameo?
Bravo for the most part, Mr. Weitz. But boo on you for making all the wrong people (fans of the book) mock, deride, and outright laugh at the criminally hacked ending. Yes, the general public went out going "Well that was new and interesting;" I guess it was simply the luck of getting a large amount of people familiar with the book in the same screening as I.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Filmic Rant
Currently in Earphones: Beowulf soundtrack by Alan Silvestri
So, lots of academia on the plate and the siren song of the Blog calls once again. Next time I'll stuff cotton into my ears and have Moose tie me to a bedpost. You'll pardon me if I descend into a ZeroPunctuation-style rant, but I've had a healthy dose of Croshaw's wit and the snarky, venomous metaphors in me are aching to see the light of day.
I'd like to take a moment to voice my inherent dislike of any film by Wes Anderson. I'll begin with a caveat that I have never seen any of his films in full, but I have caught the last 15 minutes of The Royal Tenenbaums and even then I had no desire to know what happened for the first 90. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate character driven work, but I'm always getting this odd vibe from Anderson's films. There's this glum apathy that seems to ooze from every poster, the characters lined up and staring straight ahead blankly, that begs for attention: "Look at me! I'm trying SO HARD to be a French-influenced tragicomedy!" Who knows, the films may indeed succeed in that aspect, but I'm not a snobby film student who gets a high from watching reel after reel of depressing conversations.
OK sure, most films of this genre tend to have some good moments of absurdist comedy thrown in to balance out the downers, but I really couldn't find any sort of release in the few trips to the Department of Strange Back-story that the director makes. Really Wes, while you don't need to have a stand up comic pop up out of nowhere to deliver a few jokes, please try have moments that will at least get a rise out of me. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the ultra-absurdist stylings of Beckett and Stoppard that are so off-the-wall that they become funny, or perhaps they simply have a better sense of humor than Anderson does. Call me strange but I'd be more inclined to see a film about the bleak way that the gears of life turn if a friend mentioned in the same breath that it was also somewhat humorous. Having never heard such a thing from the few friends of mine that enjoy these films, I'm more likely to shun these celluloid tales like a black turtlenecked, beret wearing art student sitting smugly in the back of a coffee shop.
Maybe I'm just a starry-eyed dreamer with his head in the clouds, but I was under the impression that we watched movies to be entertained, to be taken somewhere and shown something that normally doesn't happen. I'm not saying that every film needs to be some foolishly hopeful escapist fantasty, but I don't settle down in the theater to relive the experience of seeing promising people stuck in dead end jobs, chafing under a dysfunctional family, or dealing with the everyday gremlins of boredom and purposeless. Really, real life does that fine for me, I don't need to re-tread those paths by sitting in a dark room with a giant image in front of me for an extended period of time. If I do go see a tragic film, you can be damn sure there will be characters I can root for to whom bad shit will go down.
In sum, I think I might start going to see Wes Anderson films the minute the promotional materials stop looking like oddly placed police line-ups. However, since there seems to be little chance of that happening, I'll continue to see the unrealistic, rose-colored and implausable films that I wouldn't mind paying a wad of cash for.
Enough, More Later.
- James
So, lots of academia on the plate and the siren song of the Blog calls once again. Next time I'll stuff cotton into my ears and have Moose tie me to a bedpost. You'll pardon me if I descend into a ZeroPunctuation-style rant, but I've had a healthy dose of Croshaw's wit and the snarky, venomous metaphors in me are aching to see the light of day.
I'd like to take a moment to voice my inherent dislike of any film by Wes Anderson. I'll begin with a caveat that I have never seen any of his films in full, but I have caught the last 15 minutes of The Royal Tenenbaums and even then I had no desire to know what happened for the first 90. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate character driven work, but I'm always getting this odd vibe from Anderson's films. There's this glum apathy that seems to ooze from every poster, the characters lined up and staring straight ahead blankly, that begs for attention: "Look at me! I'm trying SO HARD to be a French-influenced tragicomedy!" Who knows, the films may indeed succeed in that aspect, but I'm not a snobby film student who gets a high from watching reel after reel of depressing conversations.
OK sure, most films of this genre tend to have some good moments of absurdist comedy thrown in to balance out the downers, but I really couldn't find any sort of release in the few trips to the Department of Strange Back-story that the director makes. Really Wes, while you don't need to have a stand up comic pop up out of nowhere to deliver a few jokes, please try have moments that will at least get a rise out of me. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the ultra-absurdist stylings of Beckett and Stoppard that are so off-the-wall that they become funny, or perhaps they simply have a better sense of humor than Anderson does. Call me strange but I'd be more inclined to see a film about the bleak way that the gears of life turn if a friend mentioned in the same breath that it was also somewhat humorous. Having never heard such a thing from the few friends of mine that enjoy these films, I'm more likely to shun these celluloid tales like a black turtlenecked, beret wearing art student sitting smugly in the back of a coffee shop.
Maybe I'm just a starry-eyed dreamer with his head in the clouds, but I was under the impression that we watched movies to be entertained, to be taken somewhere and shown something that normally doesn't happen. I'm not saying that every film needs to be some foolishly hopeful escapist fantasty, but I don't settle down in the theater to relive the experience of seeing promising people stuck in dead end jobs, chafing under a dysfunctional family, or dealing with the everyday gremlins of boredom and purposeless. Really, real life does that fine for me, I don't need to re-tread those paths by sitting in a dark room with a giant image in front of me for an extended period of time. If I do go see a tragic film, you can be damn sure there will be characters I can root for to whom bad shit will go down.
In sum, I think I might start going to see Wes Anderson films the minute the promotional materials stop looking like oddly placed police line-ups. However, since there seems to be little chance of that happening, I'll continue to see the unrealistic, rose-colored and implausable films that I wouldn't mind paying a wad of cash for.
Enough, More Later.
- James
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